#misc tl

[night-thoughts]

I was re-reading the issue of Ongaku to Hito from November 2015 last night with Atsushi as the cover feature as The Mortal. Usually when I read magazines, I only read the article I'm interested in and move on. But I decided to peruse the full magazine, and read the little editorial comments at the back.

Underneath this very funny Polaroid of Atsushi, the blurb is equally funny. Here is a translation of what it says:

"The shooting session for next issue's cover story takes place in the middle of Tokyo. The one that emerges from the makeup room is none other than the Demon King, descending from the world of goth. He stands wordlessly in the middle of the smoky studio. About an hour after the completion of the photoshoot he departs, again without uttering a word. This figure is not the usual Acchan; indeed, he is the Demon King. It is only here in this studio that time stops and warps.

About ten days later, the interview takes place at a skyscraper in Roppongi, in the conference room of a recording company. On this day, the editor Hirabayashi is present, not the editor-in-chief Kanemitsu. As we enter the conference room, the great sprawl of Tokyo lies beyond the windows from which Mr. Sakurai sits in front of. In response to a question from writer Ishii, Mr. Sakurai replies with a smirk, 'I'm not such an over-the-top goth.' That laugh--oh yes, he is the Demon King.

After the interview concludes, he says his thank yous and rises from his seat. At the same time, I tell his manager, who is also there, that Yuta would be attending an event hosted by the editorial department tomorrow, and to let him know that we will be relying on him. With a sweet and gentle smile, the Demon King chimes: 'Oh, so there's an event tomorrow. If it's about something other than baseball, please feel free to bring out more about Yuta.' And with that, he takes his leave."

[night-thoughts]

Ongaku to Hito, Feb. 2020 has one of the coolest Buck-Tick photoshoots, but also this Polaroid is so funny because Atsushi is just darkening the entire image with his heavy makeup lol. "Datenshi" had recently been released as a single when this issue was published as well. Here's a translation of the editorial comment.

"The cover and lead photoshoot for this issue took place on the same day as the PHY Vol. 15 special shoot. All five members [of Buck-Tick] had their shoots for PHY go without a hitch. However, the shoot for this issue proved to be quite challenging.

Editor-in-chief Kanemitsu proposed an idea: 'They're fallen angels so they should have wings.' The art director, photographer, and everyone else was on board. But portraying Sakurai and Imai as fallen angels and creating their winged silhouettes was quite difficult. We hung plastic wing objects behind Sakurai and Imai. We adjusted the light source to suit them, and then adjusted the position and brightness of the strobes, but it was difficult to get a good shadow. After much trial and error, we got the shots on pages 14 and 17. We really wanted to capture the wings in long shadows, but we were pressed for time and had to give up. Lastly, the staff threw the black feathers we bought into the air from the side and Sakurai and Imai stood amongst the falling feathers. This shot also took a lot of effort to get the timing just right. But the photos were worth all that effort.

After such a long shoot, Mr. Imai's interview took place after 11pm. Naturally, it was held in a private room at an izakaya. As soon as we sat down, Kanemitsu said with a laugh, 'Hey, that was a long one, wasn't it? What a long one that was, huh!' As an apology, I stayed with him late into the night!"

[night-thoughts]

I recently got a copy of Phy volume 5 with The Mortal as the cover feature. There are no silly Polaroids here like in Ongaku to Hito, but there are still funny editorial comments at the back of the magazine. This one is super short, and here is my basic translation of it:

"The photoshoot took place at a cheddar-style, Western-styled house on the outskirts of Setagaya. Antique sofas, pianos, dolls... The owner lives alone in this house that is anything but ordinary. The atmosphere is mysterious, but Jake [Cloudchair] is brimming with curiosity. Camera in hand, he took pictures of all sorts of things. He seemed to get along well with the owner, who brought something out of the attic that he 'normally never shows to anyone.' We can't reveal what it was, but everyone was amazed. Oh, but as soon as we arrived, Demon Lord Sakurai, perhaps tired, went to sleep on an antique bed. Even in his sleep, he was as beautiful as an antique ornament."